Luxury presents for petrolheads

Badge engineering

For the Aston Martin fan with everything …a set of Aston Martin badges. No ordinary badges though and with just 250 numbered sets being available worldwide, they promise to be rare, too. There are nine of the iconic wings motifs in each set, each bearing the flag colours of the nine countries that have hosted rounds of the World Endurance Championship in 2016. In which Aston did pretty well of course, taking both GT drivers’ and GTE/Pro manufacturer’s titles. The badges are replicas of the actual badges used on the V8 Vantage GTE race cars, and hand-crafted by Vaughtons in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter; Price: £3750 from Aston Martin online, Aston dealers and the Aston shop in Dover Street, Mayfair. 

Little Macs? Mmmm…

As well as the all-electric P1 for six-year-olds, there is now a whole range of little Macs to please those who want a slice of the action but who can’t stretch to the real thing. Yup, they love their models in Woking. Lilliputian versions of all the new-gen models since 2012 are available (everyone has a model of the F1 already, don’t they?), from different model manufacturers, in various materials and at different price points. One of the latest is a 1:18 scale model of the McLaren 570S from Italian family-run business Tecnomodel, and available in a limited run of just 50. And if you want a 675LT? The real ones are all long sold out so the 1:43 scale Minichamps version is your best bet. Recording McLaren’s fast-evolving and increasingly successful road car range in miniature is an appealing thought – even if you haven’t got the full-size model to go with it. Prices from £55 and available at McLaren Automotive and specialist retailers. 

A Bentley kind of picnic

Those who already have a Bentley Bentayga in the garage will know this formidable machine comes with most of life’s essentials – including the option of a built-in picnic hamper. As you would expect this is no ordinary hamper: it’s the Linley hamper by Mulliner and right now is available filled with a festive feast from Daylesford Organic. What does the owner of the world’s fastest and most luxurious SUV get for lunch?  As well as other delights, there’s a carved pumpkin filled with green kale, heritage apples, crispy bacon, toasted seeds, with raspberry macaroons to follow – and all enjoyed with silver cutlery, crystal glass and French porcelain. It is served from separate leather-trimmed compartments fitted in the Bentayga’s boot. And before you ask, yes you can have your family crest embroidered into the leather. Price, about £22,000 from Bentley dealers. 

Aromatic and mystical Jaguar

At the other end of the price scale is Pace, the new men’s fragrance from Jaguar. Said to be an “expression of true masculinity, emanating power, confidence and charisma” the eau de toilette spray is named for the F-Pace SUV, with even the bottle it comes in (it says here) reminiscent of the car’s bold profile. It also says here the Paris perfumery behind the fragrance found inspiration in the aroma of “warm, damp asphalt after light summer rain: an aromatic and mystical aroma”, which is something we at GRR haven’t noticed before. But we are sure it’s very nice. A 60ml spray costs £28, available from selected Marks and Spencer's stores around the country and online. 

Your own historic race car?

And finally…a car for Christmas. What to choose? What about not just a car but a potential entry into historic racing? What about this: a British sports coupe from 1974 said to be eligible for HSCC historic racing or rallying, which is very rare, hardly used (first registered in ’98), has been subject to a bare shell restoration, and has  a new interior. It’s a Clapham-built Davrian Mk 7A, one of the later Hillman Imp-based 875cc cars in the Davrian line of popular amateur circuit racers of the ‘60s and ‘70s. It comes with an auction guide price of £8-10,000 and you can pick it up at Barons’ annual Christmas Classic sale at Sandown Park on Tuesday December 13^th at 13.00hrs.